


Honey

by Enchantable



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:45:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaeger Pilots don't get sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honey

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Chuck and Mako fluff, cause I didn't ship them before I read your writing and now I'm kinda craving it

She adds honey to the tea and stirs it in. 

The tea is not what they serve in the mess. It’s part of her secret stash, the one indulgence she and Sensei allow themselves. The memories she holds dearest are punctuated by the brews, cool in summer, hot in winter. They don’t like their tea too sweet, but they like drinking it outdoors. Even now that Sensei is gone the tea has an effect on her. When she drinks it she can almost imagine him next to her, helping her with his quiet steadiness. 

She frowns at the cup she’s stirring and dumps some more honey in, trying not to wince at what is rapidly becoming syrup. 

Setting down the honey she covers the two cups and heads out of her room, down the hall and up the stairs to the lifts and then finally to another. She doesn’t bother to knock because she left the door unlocked. She shifts the cups and goes for the handle when the door is yanked open and she’s greeted with a bleery eyed, red nosed, infuriated man who takes one look at her and shoots her a glare that could curdle milk. 

"You should be in bed," she tells him, her voice gentle but steel. 

"I am not sick," he objects but doesn’t try to stop her when she comes in and sets the tea on his desk. 

She looks pointedly at the wastebasket which is overflowing with tissues and then at Max who woofs from somewhere under the five blankets piled on Chuck’s bed. Their eyes lock and Chuck glares for as long as can before his head flies back as he sneezes. When he looks back at her his glare turns as venomous as he can make it when his eyes are watering. 

"I’m not—"

"Do you have allergies?" Mako asks lightly. 

"Jaeger pilots don’t have allergies!" he shouts indignantly. 

Mako bites the inside of her cheek not to laugh. Chuck clearly has a cold but he doesn’t want to admit it. Half his hair is sticking up and the indignity in his eyes makes her want to smile. Instead she walks over to the bed and pulls back several of the blankets to reveal Max who barks loudly and jumps onto her lap. She distinctly hears Chuck mutter something that sounds like ‘traitor’ as he turns to the tea. 

"He’s a very grumpy sick person," she says to Max in Japanese. 

"He speaks English," Chuck grumbles and Mako fights not to chuckle. 

"He’s a dog," she says to him in english. 

"I know that!" Chuck snaps as he lifts the lid of one of the cups and winces, replacing the lid and opening the other. He grabs both of them and comes back over, passing her the more bitter of the two. He takes a long drink and Mako watches as some of the tension seeps out of his face. His eyes open and drag to her face, “what?" he questions but the anger behind it is half hearted at best. 

She reaches out and presses the back of her hand to his forehead. He looks indignant for a moment but his forehead leans forward and presses into her hand. Mako can feel how hot he is. Not hot enough that she wants to drag him to the infirmary, but hot enough that his denial at being sick is a bad lie. 

She slips her hand from his forehead, her fingers ghosting his lips before they come to the back of his neck. She reaches up and cards her fingers through the short hairs at the nape of his neck. His lips part but the anger seems to fade as she digs her fingers into his skin, right at the point where their helmets connect.

She works her fingers up into his scalp. He leans his head back into her hand. Max snuggles into her lap and Mako drapes her arm over him, still holding onto her tea. She can feel the tension draining out of him as she massages his scalp, something she knows he loves. 

"You’re manipulating me," he groans breathlessly. 

"No," she says with a smile, “and you aren’t sick."

One eye opens and offers a half hearted glare. Mako looks back at him steadily and he sighs. She digs her fingers into his scalp, making him groan low in his throat before she lowers her hand and turns her attention to Max. He stays with his head back for a moment as Mako rubs Max behind his ears. 

"Drink your tea," she says to him. 

He grumbles but complies as she pets Max until the dog pulls back and settles himself against her side. She shifts slightly to get more comfortable before Chuck’s head settles in her lap. Mako smiles softly as Chuck shifts his head against her thigh. She reaches down and runs her fingers through his hair as she nurses her own tea. 

"You shouldn’t be here," Chuck grumbles after a moment. 

"Why not?" Mako asks, “afraid you’re going to get me sick?"

He chuckles low in his throat before coughing. Mako shifts to get up, intent on getting him something else to drink but his hand reaches up and presses to her thigh. Mako hears what he doesn’t say and settles back against the bed. Chuck sighs softly, his eyes closing as Mako drags her fingers through his hair. 

He falls asleep in her lap. 

Three days later she wakes up sick and miserable and yes, in fact, does have a cold. She presses her nose into the handkerchief and thinks about all the ways this is ridiculous. She’s considering bed when someone knocks on the door. She opens it to see Chuck on the other side, Max at his heels. He looks at her and Mako can see him itching to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

"Sorry for getting you sick," he says finally and lifts his hands. 

He’s holding two cups of tea. Silently he holds one out and she takes it. It’s sweeter than she likes, but not as sweet as she knows the one he’s holding is. She looks down to see Max holding a box of tissues and no amount of feeling miserable can wipe the smile from her face. 

"Thank you," she says taking a sip and stepping aside to let her boys come in.


End file.
